Boys Soccer: Warriors seek more championships

Wayland’s defending Div. 3 state champion boys soccer team aims to dethrone Boston Latin for Dual County League Small title and more.

Rick Rendell

The Wayland boys soccer team won two of the past three Division 3 state championships. The Warriors are looking to add more hardware to the trophy case this fall.

With six of 11 starters returning and a deep program with talent to potentially fill the graduation voids coming up from the JV and freshmen ranks, the defending state champs are reloading to make another run for it all this fall.

“Our coaches and players expect to be able to compete for league titles and state titles regardless of the players we have,” said Wayland coach David Gavron. “We will continue to have that mentality moving forward.”

Wayland (45-11-8 over the past three seasons, including 16-3-2 last year) won a North sectional title en route to the state crown, but fell short of the Dual County League Small championship last season after sharing the league crown the previous two years. The team is aiming to dethrone Boston Latin.

The Warriors are led this season by senior captains Joe Lyons, Zack Dresens, Michael Jones and Marco Malero. Juniors Gage Fuller and Andrew D’Amico, and seniors Max Valone, Kobe Balson and Ryan Tapply are other key returners from last year.

Lyons and Jones were first-team Dual County League All-Stars, and Fuller and Dresens were second-team DCL All-Stars.

“We have a great core coming back,” said Gavron, in his 11th year in charge of the program, “but we lost the heart of that team.”

That heart was down the center of the pitch, comprised of last year’s senior captains Curran Murphy in goal, Cam Gordon at center back, and Jack Fletcher and Charlie Halliwell at center midfield. Fletcher, who Gavron described as “the best player I’ve ever coached” was an All-State selection in 2016. Fletcher and Halliwell were first-team league all-stars, and Murphy a second teamer.

“The goalie competition could perhaps be the fiercest we’ve ever had,” said Gavron.

The Warriors are perennially a high-scoring team and this year shouldn’t be any different.

Lyons is a four-year starter who moved to forward after playing outside midfield as a freshman.

“He’ll hopefully be up top for us the whole time,” said Gavron.

The versatile Jones and Lyons were the only freshmen on the state title team in 2014.

“He’s going to be a player to watch this year,” said Gavron of Jones. “He’s so talented and has an incredible nose for the goal. He’s grown by leaps and bounds as a soccer player. He knows where he needs to be on the field. This could be a breakout year for him and for us, having a strong season from Michael.”

Midfielder Melero is another strong goal-scorer.

“He sort of flies under the radar and goes about his business quietly,” said Gavron. “What’s stood out for me the last three years is he’s calm and collected under pressure with the ball at his feet. He can be a general for us and direct the flow of play. …His soccer IQ is high enough that he recognizes what needs to be done.”

Balsom, a midfielder, scored game-winner in the 2-0 victory over Nipmuc for the state title.

“Kobe is sneaky good,” said Gavron. “Opponents might look at Kobe as just another body on the field. He’s able to create space for himself and get off great shots. It’s important to have guys that put the ball on frame.”

D’Amico, an anchor at outside midfield, is following a family tradition at Wayland with brothers Daniel and Chris playing before him. Daniel scored the winning goal in the state semifinal final in 2014 while and Andrew netted the winner to beat Medway 1-0 in the same game last year.

“There’s some nice symmetry to their time here at Wayland,” said Gavron.

“The hallmark for us in the past is the ability to possess the ball and through that we should be able to generate a lot of offense this year,” said Gavron. “The only area to tighten up is in the defensive third with a lot of players getting their first taste of varsity experience.”

The Warriors do have solid veteran talent on the back line, too.

Dresens played outside back last year but shifts to center back. The 6-foot-2 Fuller, who also won a state title with the boys tennis team in the spring, will team with Dresens at center back.

“Zach has the tenacity to not get beat off the ball and he transitions and moves forward and does a great job getting into the attack from a defensive position,” said Gavron. “Technically, he is one of our strongest players we have. He’ll do what it takes to be a winner. He makes his game better. No stone goes unturned. He’s a relentless worker and makes sure he’s the fittest player on the field. It becomes contagious to the other players. They try to catch up to him and emulate him.

“Gage is a smart, experienced player with the ability to see the field and deal with distributing the ball under pressure. That’s vital for center backs.”

The coaches have high expectations for Valone on defense.

“If all things go as planned, he’ll be the glue that keeps us together in the middle of the field,” said Gavron. “He has a great head on his shoulders. He’s been able to see the field well and been vocal as well. He does not wear a captain’s band, but he’s just as much of a leader on the pitch.”

Tapply will add valuable veteran depth at both outside back and midfield.

The varsity will be bolstered by contributions from younger players groomed by assistants Connor Meiselman and George Argyrou.

“They incorporate the same system of play to help make the jump seamlessly,” said Gavron. “The speed and skill will be higher at varsity, but the boys with the work done by the coaches are well equipped to handle it.”

Last Saturday sophomore Kyle Mabe scored two goals and had two assists in his first varsity appearance in an 8-0 win over Snowden to open the year. Jones also recorded a goal and an assist, and junior goalkeeper Smith made two saves in his first varsity appearance in net.

The Warriors travel to Boston Latin in an expected DCL Small showdown on Oct. 17.

“This is (Boston Latin’s) last year in our league so it would be nice to give them a parting gift of not winning the league title,” said Gavron. “That’s a big goal for us, it really is. But ideally we want to make sure we put a team out there that is ready to compete, ultimately, at the end of October when the postseason rolls around.”